David
PARKER
Spokesperson for Finance

9 November 2012 MEDIA STATEMENT
‘Surprised’ Key had plenty of warning on unemployment

John Key has taken his eye off the employment ball, shown by his ‘surprise’ at the high unemployment numbers, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Parker.

“John Key was blindsided by the high unemployment figures. That’s not because they’re wrong, it’s because he took his eye off the ball.

“There has been plenty of warning.”
• On 18 October ANZ predicted unemployment would rise towards 7% after job advertisements dropped
• The performance of manufacturing index showed employment in that sector has been contracting for four months.
• The performance of services index showed the industry is contracting.
• New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association Survey of Business Conditions showed confidence down to negative 33%
• NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion forecast growth down in the second half of the year.
• The Quarterly Employment Survey showed a drop in 2,800 full-time jobs for the last quarter.

“How can John Key be surprised when week after week, more redundancies are announced? ANZ weren’t surprised, manufacturers weren’t surprised, unions weren’t surprised, employers weren’t surprised, workers weren’t surprised.

“In fact anyone who read a newspaper or watched the news wasn’t surprised. John Key took his eye off the ball and is completely out of touch.

"All year John Key has been preoccupied with National's problems, and has not paid proper attention to what matters - the economy and jobs.

“John Key’s distractions this year have been many. The tea tapes, ACC, class sizes, John Banks’ donations, Dotcom, memory fades and most recently insults to sporting celebrities and others.

“Throughout the year the Government’s flagship economic initiative for this three year term - state asset sales - has gone increasingly awry, but was never going to grow the economy or jobs anyway.

“The cost of this mismanagement is clear.”

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